Instant Pot Pulled Pork with Pineapple

Instant Pot Pulled Pork with Pineapple is a sweet and savory ultra shredded pork recipe that is perfectly tender! Crisp it up in a frying pan after shredding it for crispy shredded pork!

If you love all things shredded pork, this may just be your new favorite recipe! If you made my Instant Pot Pulled Pork and Apples, the concept is very similar here. 

We’re taking a pork roast and pressure cooking it in the Instant Pot (or electric pressure cooker of choice) with onion, garlic, spices, and chunks of pineapple. 

The result is incredibly flavorful and tender pulled pork, perfect for burritos, burrito bowls, quesadillas, tostadas, tacos, you name it!

Pineapple Instant Pot Pulled Pork Ingredients:

Pork Shoulder Roast, avocado oil, onion, ground cumin, paprika, garlic powder, apple cider, canned pineapple (or fresh pineapple chunks), and lime juice. This simple, fresh combination of flavors yields well-seasoned pork with a sweet and tangy flavor. Be sure to add sea salt to taste, as it works wonders in bringing out all the flavors!

What Pineapple Does to Meat:

Fun fact! In addition to its natural sweetness and tropical vibe, pineapple contains enzymes that breaks down the proteins in meat and tenderizes it. For this reason, pineapple and animal protein go great together. 

As a cautionary note, the enzymes in pineapple work so well that if you marinate the meat in pureed pineapple (or even pineapple juice) for more than a few hours, the fibers begin to break down significantly. Marinate it for over 24 hours and the structure of the meat will have degraded substantially! If you’re curious about this, watch Guga Foods video on Will Pineapple Completely Disintegrate Steak?. 

That said, we aren’t marinating the meat in pineapple juice or flesh, and the simple contact of the pork and pineapple is enough to make it perfectly tender but still hold its structure. You can still store the meat and pineapple chunks together after it has finished cooking, so no worries there either!

Let’s make it!

How to Make Instant Pot Pineapple Pulled Pork:

Plug in your Instant Pot and add the avocado oil. Press the Sauté button and wait a minute or two for it to heat up. Add the red onion and saute, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes.

Unwrap the pork shoulder from the netting (if applicable) and lay it out on a cutting board (it will likely be folded over on itself or contain multiple pieces, so lay it all out). Sprinkle all sides with sea salt, ground cumin, paprika, garlic powder, and black pepper.

Move the onions off to one side of the Instant Pot and place the pork shoulder in the IP. Allow it to brown 3 to 5 minutes, until it has a nice crisp on it. Flip the roast over and brown on the other side another 3 to 5 minutes.

Add the remaining ingredients to the Instant Pot. Secure the lid and select “Manual.” Make sure it’s set on the high pressure setting and adjust the time for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Leaving the steam valve closed, allow the Instant Pot to do its thing. Once the time is up, allow it to naturally release for at least 20 minutes (up to 1 hour).

Remove the lid, and transfer the roast to a cutting board. Use two forks to shred the meat (it should fall apart very easily! I often just use tongs to shred the pork).

Transfer the shredded pork back to the Instant Pot and allow it to sit in the juices until ready to serve.

Note: If you’d like crispy shredded pork carnitas, heat a skillet over medium-high heat on your stove top and add a thin layer of shredded pork. Pan fry it, stirring occasionally, until the pork becomes crispy and golden-brown.

Use pineapple shredded pork for tacos, burritos, burrito bowls, or serve as-is with side dishes.

More Instant Pot Meat Recipes:

• Instant Pot Mexican Shredded Beef
• Instant Pot Carnitas
• Instant Pot Garlic Herb Rotisserie Chicken
• Instant Pot Pot Roast with Balsamic Gravy
• Instant Pot Beef Bourguignon

Enjoy all your pork carnitas adventures!